Toy aeroplane



A. F. THURNAU. .TOYAEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. .10, 1919.

1,348,971 Patented Aug. 10, 1920.

UNl'TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR F. THURNAU, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO LAWRENCE AIRPLANE MODEL AND SUPPLY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE.

TOY AEBOPLANE.

7 Specification of Letters Patent. Pat t d 10 1920.

Application filed October '10, 1919. Serial No. 329,849.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR F. THURNAU, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Toy Acroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toy flying machines of the aeroplane type, and more particularly to those which are driven by a propeller operated by a rubber band which is twisted one Way to give it the required tension, and the untwisting of which fur to increase the general eificiency and the dc sirability of a toy aeroplane of this particular character. I

To these and other useful ends the inven tion consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective of a toy aeroplane embodying the principles of the invention. v

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the rear end portion of said toy.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the forward portion of said toy.

Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4.-1 in Fig. 3.

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and S are perspectives of the various brackets and the devices by which the wings or planes and the driving mechanism are mounted on the stick or longitudinal member. I

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a longitudinal member 1 which is preferably a stick of wood, such as light pine or other soft or suitable wood. The wings or planes 2 are secured upon the rear portion of this longitudinal member, and the Wings or planes 3, which latter constitute the elevator of the toy aeroplane, are secured upon the forward portion of the said member. These wings or planes are of any sultable sheet material, such as sheet aluminum, as the latter is thin and light and at the same time has sufficient stiffness to serve the purpose. Fastening devices are employed to secure the said wings or planes in place, as shown, and those for the rear or larger planes or wings are located at the front and rear ec ges of the sheet metal, each fastening device being of the kind shown in Fig; 6, the said device comprising a flat body portion at which rests upon the top of the member 1, and downturned portions 5 which tightly embrace the said member, and which have holes or indentations 6 punched or pressed therein to provide projections on the inner surfaces, which projections enter the wood stick or member 1 and thus hold the fastening device in place thereon. The tongue 7 extends upwardly through the slot 8 in the sheet metal of the wings or planes, and is then bent downwardly upon the upper surface of the sheet metal, thereby to tightly clamp the wings or planes upon the body portion l, and in effect upon the stick or wood memberp By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the wings or planes 3 constituting the elevator are held in place by similar sheet metal fastening devices having tongues 7, and with this arrangement the sheet aluminum or other sheet material is firmly and securely held upon the longitudinal member in such a-inanner that it does not tend to tear away or break away from the body member 1, it being understood that the front end of the latter will impinge upon the ground when the toy descends after its flight through the air. This shock imposes a strain upon the wings, but with the sheet metal fastening devices shown and described the construction is such that the wings or planes will remain firmly secured to the longitudinal member.

The propelling mechanism comprises a two-bladed propeller m suitably secured to the rear end of a shaft 9 to which a rubber band 10 is secured, the latter having its other end secured to a hook 11 on the front end of the toy. .Said hook is formed from sheet metal, as shown in Fig. 8, and has a flat body portion 12 which rests upon the top of the longitudinal body member 1, and is formed with down-turned side portions 13 which tightly embrace the member 1, and

V which have small holes or indentations 14 formed therein to provide projections which enter the wood of the member 1 to hold the hook firm'lyinplace, all formed from a flat sheet metal blank. The shaft 9 is supported in bearings provided by the upstanding.

members 15 which have holes 16 for said shaft; and it will be seen that these upstanding members 15,

which are spaced a suitable distance apart behind the rear edge of the wings or planes 2, are formed integral with the fiat body portion 17 which rests fiatwise upon the top of said longitudinal member; and, inaddition, this flat portion 17 isprovided with integral down-turned portions 18, like those previously described,

which have holes or indentations 19 formed therein (to secure the portions 18' to the wood stick or member 1 which forms the body of'the toy), as shown, all formed from a flat sheet metal blank.

' formed of sheet metal.

Thus the wings and the propelling mechanism are all secured to the longitudinal body member 1 by means of sheet metal fas-- tening devices, in a manner which tends to prevent breakage, but in a way which keeps the cost of manufacture comparatively low, the entire structure, with the exception of the'rubber band and its shaft, and except for the body member 1 of wood, being If the stick 10 should break, the side portions 5 and 18 and 18 of the various sheet metal fastening devices can be pried apart, or spread, thereby detaching them from the broken stick, and

a new stick-can then-be inserted, after which the said sheetnmetal portionsv can be compressed upon the new stick to hold the parts in place. i V

It will be understood, of course, that the toy is operated by first rotating the propeller backward, thereby to twist the rubberi band, and by then launching the toy forward into the air, the untwistingof the rubber band then causing the propeller to rotate forward and thereby propel the toy through the air.

What I claim as my invention is:

'1. In a toy aeroplane, the combination of a longitudinally disposed body member, wings or planes comprising sheet material having a slot therein, said planes extending laterally from said member, a sheet metal portion of said fastening device formed with a flexible tongue inserted through said slot and bent 'over upon said sheet material to clamp a portion of the material flatwiseupon the top of said device, having means whereby the device underlying the sheet material is secured to said member, and propelling mechanism carried by said member.

2. A structure as specified in claim 1, said device being at the rear edge of said wings or planes, and a similar device whereby the front edge of the sheet material is also secured to said'member.

3. In a toy aeroplane, a longitudinal member, wings or planes secured to said member, a sheet metal bearing comprising a flat portion seated on said member and having upturned front and rear portions formed with holes and having down-turned side portions which are secured to the sides of said member, a shaft in said holes, a propeller on said shaft, and means extending over the planes to rotate said shaft.

4. In a toy aeroplane, the combination of a longitudinal member, aodevice having a portion bent upward and over at its end to form a'hook and having down-turned side portions to tightly embrace said member, all formed from a flat sheet metal blank, a rubber band fremovably hitched to said hook, wings or planes secured to said member, under said rubber. band, adjacentto the edge of said planes, and a propeller operated by said rubber band.

.5. A structure asspecified in claim 1, said securing means of said fastening device comprising down-turned side portions which tightly embrace said member.

6. In a toy aeroplane, the combination of a longitudinal member, and a device comprising a flat portion which rests flatwise upon said member and having integral down-turned side portions which tightly embrace said member .and having upperv integral means for holding an instrumentality of the toy in position on said member, all formed from a fiat sheet metal blank, a rubber'band extending over the upper surface of the toy,above said member, and a propeller operated by said rubber band.

Signed. 

